RAFFAELLO ROMANELLI | WOODLAND NYMPH

Raffaello Romanelli came from a distinguished line of sculptors. His father was the Florentine sculptor Pasquale Romanelli, who achieved an international reputation for his finely carved mythological and biblical marble figures. After Pasquale's death in 1887, his son Raffaello and grandson Romano continued his legacy which lives on to the present day; the Romanelli studio (now a private museum) remains one of the few working studios in Florence. Raffaello was not only a frequent exhibitor at the Italian salons, but had an equally important clientele in Paris and London. The inscription of 'Florence' in the present lot, as opposed to the Italian 'Firenze' indicates the marble to have been intended for the international market. With its intricate flowers and leaves rising up from the base and refined details, including the delicate bird perched on the nymph's arm, the present marble is a clear example of Raffaello's outstanding skill as a sculptor. 

RELATED LITERATURE

A. Panzetta, Nuovo dizionario degli scultori italiani, Turin, 2003, p. 782